Focus
Take time to rest in the comfort of the Lord today.
Read
Colossians 2:16-23
16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”? 22 All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.
Reflect
A term I have often heard in the southern vernacular is “swole up”. People are always swole up about something, meaning they are hurt, upset, or angry about a situation. New flowers on the altar, changing the seating in the Fellowship Hall, not getting made chair of the committee, and even someone bringing the same dish as them at the potluck. Sound familiar? I too have been swole up about many things.
When I read this scripture the first term that pops out at me is “puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking”. Wow. You mean me being upset might be my human way thinking and me not being aligned with what God is doing in my life is keeping me apart from God? That is tough to think about.
The truth is, so many times what we get swole or puffed up about is something that is our own desire. Not what God wants for our lives. Let us use this scripture as a guide to prayerfully sort out who God is calling us to be. The more in touch we are with God’s call upon our lives, the less we will have to puff up about.
Pray
Gracious God, I have so many plans and desires for my life, but are they what you want? Guide me as I seek out who you want me to be today. Leaving behind my frustrations and anger that separates me from Your path. Amen
Go with God!
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